1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and system for authenticating objects and object data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many attempts have been made to falsify both animate and inanimate objects. One particularly important problem that confronts insurance agencies is the falsifying of damage and repairs, particularly though not exclusively, to motor vehicles (e.g., automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, etc.).
Oftentimes, cars are brought to a service station or auto body shop after an accident, and a photograph is taken of the damage. Thereafter, a second photograph is taken after the alleged repair. Then, the second photograph is submitted to the insurance company for collection of the fee. However, many times the second photograph (or both the first and the second photographs) has been altered (e.g., xe2x80x9cdoctoredxe2x80x9d), or the photographs are taken from another vehicle.
Thus, a fraud occurs on the insurance company at the hands of the unscrupulous repair shop and/or the vehicle owner.
Further, in some conventional systems, there is no method of preventing (or at least the detection thereof) taking the picture of an object that is not the object that was supposed to be represented (e.g., for insurance purposes).
For example, there is no method of detecting the recording of the image of a car in perfect shape (e.g., undamaged) which looks similar to a car that has been in an accident, and then sending this image to the insurance company for repair payments when the repair has actually not been undertaken.
A solution to the above problem requires the image taken by a camera to be an authentic image (e.g., an image that has not been altered). In one conventional system, an apparatus is provided which authenticates images acquired by a digital camera by encoding a digital signature and attaching it to the image.
In such a system, the digital camera uses cryptography to create a signature for authenticating the images generated. Specifically, a coded message is attached to the picture to allow for the authentication. Other information can also be attached to the image. However, the conventional system including such a digital camera does not reliably prevent (or at least detect) all forms of fraud. For example, the conventional system would not prevent the fraudulent activities described below.
First, the image presented to the digital camera may be a photograph, and not necessarily the actual image of the condition of the object (e.g., vehicle). Thus, such a photograph could easily have been altered.
Secondly, the additional information attached to the image such as temperature etc., could come from another source and made to appear to come from the location of the digital camera, via various types of relays and intermediary devices/nodes. Thus, even if the conventional system may overcome some of the above-described problems such as tampering and the like, there are still drawbacks present. For example, such systems cannot distinguish between look-alike items such as one obtains from mass production (e.g., consumer electronics such as televisions, video tape recorders, and the like, motor vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, and boats, artwork, expensive clothing, etc.).
Thus, fraudulent practices are not reliably prevented, thereby costing the insurance companies (and ultimately the legitimate policyholders) hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
In view of the foregoing and other problems of the conventional systems and methods, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for preventing the presentation of false images, and more specifically the false presentation of, for example, damages as well as false presentation of subsequent repairs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure and method which combines a camera and a reader (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) reader) that simultaneously records both an image of an object and a sequence of bits assigned to at least one tag, associated with the object, which corresponds to the identification of the object.
Yet another object is to provide a system and method of authenticating data alleged to be associated with a physical object, by using more than one kind of information about the object, and storing it in a secure manner. This system and method can be used in combination with a photograph to provide authentication of the digital image.
In a first aspect, a system for authenticating an image of an object, includes at least one identifier associated with the object, a receiver for interrogating the at least one identifier, a camera system for recording an image from the object including the at least one identifier, and a composite generator for receiving an input from the camera system and the receiver, such that identification information from the receiver is encoded along with the image acquired by the camera system, and the composite generator generating composite data.
In the simplest configuration of the present invention, the above problems of the conventional systems and methods are overcome by the inventive system including one or more tags (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) tag, a magnetic tag, a Smart Card, a bar code, a biometric identifier, etc.) associated with the object such that the tags cannot be removed without the tag(s) being destroyed. Each tag is provided with a different or unique ID.
Returning to the exemplary embodiment directed to automobile repairs, preferably several tags are attached in various positions on the automobile so that at least one tag will survive a typical automobile accident.
When the damage of the car is assessed, a composite optical-radio frequency identification (RFID) photo is taken. To produce such a photograph, the camera is focused on the damaged part or parts of the vehicle, each preferably containing a tag so that the ID can be read as the optical photograph is taken and placed on the photo as a xe2x80x9cwater markxe2x80x9d for authenticity purposes. After repair, a composite optical-RFID photograph is taken again with the same camera/RF reader and submitted to the insurance company together with the original photograph for comparison of the photographs (and the optical signatures of the tags).
Further, it is noted that a device for providing a time stamp and/or for determining distance also may be provided. For example, a light beam such as that used in a rangefinder may be used for measuring distance. Alternatively, an acoustic sensor could be used to measure the distance from the camera to the object of interest. Such a distance measuring feature provides a greater level of reliability and would serve to deter the establishment of relays and the like for taking fraudulent images, typically remotely positioned with respect to the actual object.
Additionally, the present invention provides a system and method for authenticating information about an object by simultaneously extracting at least two properties of an object, and possibly of its environment, such as the photographic image and the temperature, and encrypting these measurements together, using a private key, in a combined data set. The encrypted information can be made available to a remote user of this information, either through a public or a private key decryption.
For example, as mentioned above, a photographic picture of an object provides a remote party some information about the object, but that information may not be authentic, even with authentication of the photograph through watermarking, for example, since the photograph may have been made of a fraudulent model of the object, or from a computer screen, rather than of the object itself. By combining photographic imaging with other kinds of sensing, greatly enhanced authentication is possible. This applies as well to pictures taken by video cameras. Furthermore, the primary source of information need not be visual, and thus the invention enhances the credibility of any recording.
One of the properties of the object may be its identity as confirmed by a tag. By simultaneously sensing (and encrypting) broadcast identity information from an identifying tag, embedded in or attached to the object, with other sensed information, greater confidence in the relationship between the measured data and the specifically identified object can be achieved.
Further, the present invention may utilize fragile watermarking for authenticating the relationship between data allegedly extracted from a physical object and the object itself This invention enables users of information about physical objects to have enhanced confidence about the authenticity of this information. The invention preferably uses fragile watermarking of several data sets created simultaneously. The verification process can be performed using either public or private keys, or a combination thereof.